How to make a meal in zero gravity

It's not all "cubes and tubes" cuisine at the International Space Station. Astronauts have to eat their veggies, too, and one space woman has created a zero gravity video cooking guide to show how it's done.

Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, a flight engineer on the six-month Futura mission, grapples with floating ingredients and no refrigeration nor stovetop to make a meal that's literally out of this world.

"I would like to show you one of my favourite meals up here," she says of the turmeric, chicken and rice dish.

Standard utensils are replaced with a single pair of scissors.

"This is one of the most important tools up here in space when it comes to the kitchen," Ms Cristoforetti explains.

And without gravity there is no need for plates, with Ms Cristoforetti simply squeezing the contents of pre-heated pouches into the air for preparation.

The astronaut then empties the packets of processed peas, mushrooms, rice and chicken onto what appears to be a naan and spreads them across evenly.